Practise

I was wondering how you go about practising. I have seen people sit down at a keyboard and start playing beautifully and they have no music in front of them. Do you play certain songs over and over until you know them by heart, or do you memorize an individual song before going on to the next? I can play a lot of music but I must have the sheet music. I want to learn to play some songs without sheetmusic. What do you suggest?

Practice is a disciplin that is hard to adapt to it involves playing something you are sick of over and over again and making sure that what you are playing is correct,untill the day dawns when you can play that piece or scale with your eyes shut and still seeing the music.

Hi Lrngkybrd,

I'm glad you asked the question. It is one I have been wanting to ask but never got around to it. Like you, I play from music mostly, but have also memorized a few tunes. I find it takes me ages to memorize a song. I will be very interested to hear what our friends have to say on this matter. Perhaps they can share some practice tips with all of us that will help us become better players.

Best Regards, Chuck

Hi Kozykeys,

Guess you and I were writing at the same time. When I hit the "post" button on my comments, there you were just in front of me. I have had the same experience as you when memorizing a song i.e., I've played it so many times I can "see" the music. Maybe that is the only way to make it happen? There probably is no easy way to do it - no shortcut.

Thanks for sharing your experience and thoughts.

Best Regards, Chuck

Hi chuck
Iknow one thing for sure about practice
every song you learn to play gives you a bigger knowledge of chords this in itself makes practising a lot easier because you dont have to think about where to put your fingers to form the chords, I believe this is called using your body memory rather than your mind,just as you do when you pick up a cup or write your name .
jan
Bit deep is'nt it.




[This message has been edited by kozykeys (edited 05-14-2002).]

Hi,

Be glad you have to follow the music. I play a phrase of a song a few times and remember it. Then I play the next phrase and remember it. However, the bad news is that because I remember the phrases, I don't look at the music. Never fails, half way through the song, I forget which phrase comes next. When I look up at the music, I don't have a clue where I am at. Then, because I memorize this way, I have to start all over from the beginning in order to even play it again. Not a good thing! My piano teacher threatens to put a cardboard collar around my neck that sticks out about 10 inches so I can't watch the keys! Says it will keep my mind on the music! LOL

Carol

Practice - necessary, but distasteful! I try to practice scales to limber up my stiff fingers, but learning a song is a whole new world. I play all my songs from memory with the sheet music there for a quick backup peek if I need it. I have mostly played by ear from my earlier days when I was learning guitar and couldn't read music. I would listen to a song on tape for a few bars then practice until I had it down pat, then move on to the next measure. It was a lot of work but the only way I could learn a song, and when I switched to console organ, things just fell into place and playing by ear worked well. I forced myself to learn basic notation so I could read simple music scores from fake books, etc., and that's how I do it today. Learn the song from the sheet music, play it over and over until it becomes second nature, make changes you like to hear (arranging), then record it. Sometimes I will listen to an earlier song I recorded and wonder how I managed to do that - forgetting the hours I put into the preparation. Playing by ear is something you just acquire after years of practice, plus it helps to have an ear for music.

I tried for years to play by ear with no real success. There are many songs that I have played so many times that my hands just seem to do what they are supposed to do with no thought at all. But, on occasion, things don't seem to go right and if I am not reading the score I am completely lost and like Carol, I am helpless. So, I force myself to use fake sheets and stay with the score. Often, I use the lyrics to find my way when I have lost my place. There is no hope for me to play without my fake sheets and when you're in your 70's it's too late to change.

Hi Jan and Carol,

Know what? Your comments give me great comfort because I obviously have some company. My experiences parallel yours. I, too, play chords more easily by practicing a song over and over while committing it to memory. On the other hand, Carol, I've experienced the same problem you spoke of i.e., losing my place in the music when I forget a phrase and have to refer to the music to carry on playing. Maybe I need a collar? Ha! And this is the truth - sometimes I get so engrossed in listening to the lush sounds the keyboard is producing that I lose concentration on my playing and forget where I am in a song, then have to start from the beginning again!

Lrngkybrd, you raised this issue and it is a good one. I think the answer to your question is this: if you want to sit down and play without music like other people do, you have to memorize, memorize, memorize. I am finding that the more I try to memorize, the easier it becomes. May I suggest you begin by selecting a song you really like that has an easy melody line and a limited number of chords and chord changes. Memorize it. Then select a second song to memorize. And this is important - play the first song every day while you work on the second.

One final word. I don't know if Jan and Carol have had the same experience, but I find that by playing my repertoire of memorized tunes every day, I begin to hear little things that I can add to each song which gives them a personal touch - and hopefully adds to the listening pleasure of the listener. The ultimate benefit is that your playing skills are improving - DAILY!

Best Regards, Chuck

exactly chuck this is the only way to build up a repetoire sometimes after a while a most styles imediatly put a song in yor head and you can play them straight away without the dots.I don't know if any of you have had the experience of play a song without looking at what is on the music stand looked up at the music and still carried on playing the first song untill you realise that it is not on the music stand then go all to pieses strange is'nt it. Perhaps when you knoe a song the music simply becomes a crutch and looking at it becomes habit
strange is'nt it

Thank you for all of your feedback. I play everyday. Now I just have to pick a favorite tune to work on!

Hey lrngkybrd,

You are in deep trouble! Picking a favorite is hard to do! There are so many songs out there worth playing. Some are just plain fun, others are so darn beautiful you can't resist, others are so challenging that you have to prove you can do it! Like Chuck says, it is very easy to get "lost" in the music! All I know is there isn't enough hours in the day to make beautiful music -- even if it is only to my ears!

Carol

In answer to your last statement, "What do you suggest?" TALENT! All the lessons, fancy runs and technical skills you have learned won't help you unless you have that God given ear to play a melody on a keyboard without music in front of you, and equally important, to be able to hear harmony in your head. With the aforementioned, it is just a matter of doing it. I started out picking melodies out on the piano when I was seven years old. I had no lessons and by the time I was eight, I was winning first place in local talent shows - a precocious kid, is what I was. Later on, I learned to read music, which was difficult for me, for I found it boring to sit and play mediocre simple things. I wanted to close the book and play by ear. Rich harmonies, few ever learn. By listening to great artists over the years and in this case, practice, I have been able to do pretty well with advanced harmony. At a very early age, (5 or 6 years) I was very interested in not only a beautiful melody but also the way the piece was arranged. It no doubt played a major part in my ability to arrange later on. People who know me give me a lot of compliments on my arrangements. Not long ago, a professional organist heard some of my arrangements and playing skill and said, " Being a professional musician, how are you able to arrange music so well the way you do?" I thought to myself, how strange this person asks this question. He is a musician and why can't he do this. Anyway, if you can play the melody of a song (one finger) without sheet music, there is hope for you. It comes down to the way you approach this matter. Good luck.

You said it, Carol, the days aren't long enough! After a few hours of work at the keyboard I like to fool around (noodling) with notes...like see how long I can sustain a melody in one chord using two octaves, just run up and down scale trying to make the notes pleasant but unique. Or, just make up a song bar by bar, measure by measure, without worrying about words, and after a bit you have a song that's all yours. I did that with an old Wersi style that I couldn't seem to fit to any songs, and it's on Bebop's next 20 for 1 disk. It's fun to do and no body can ever say you played it wrong, or missed some notes, and best of all - you've opened up a door to a whole new world. Your music! So, bottom line...keep practicing!!

Hey nsr can you play Wonderfull Baby (don mclean i think) I cannot find the sheet music and the melodies quite easy to pick ouk but the descending chord progression
over the words:
/ - / -/ / - /
Wonderfull baby
/ - / - /- /
Living on love

if you could just send me the numbers of the chords will not matter about the key
or a recording would be really great
many thanks
jan


[This message has been edited by kozykeys (edited 05-15-2002).]

[This message has been edited by kozykeys (edited 05-15-2002).]

Hey nsr can you play Wonderfull Baby (don mclean i think) I cannot find the sheet music and the melodies quite easy to pick ouk but the descending chord progression over the words:

Hi Jan,

Sorry I can't help you out. I am unfamiliar with Wonderful Baby. I did some research for you but came up with nothing other than it is indeed by McLean. Interesting enough, Perry Como recorded it in the 70s on a country album called, "Just Out of Reach." I am not a Don McLean fan. I can't get past "American Pie." :-) Perhaps some other forumite can help you. If I knew the melody, I could tell you immediately what the chords are.